Whether Arsene Wenger retires in a couple of seasons having once again made Arsenal Premier League champions or if he bows out safe in the knowledge that he has bequeathed a veritable superclub to whoever his successor might be, the tributes and eulogies will likely focus on the Frenchman's untouchable philosophy.

Fine football, attacking football, passing football has been the staple of Wenger's reign and it is an ideal that is not for compromise.

Even through these barren years without a Premier League title, Arsenal have remained the most attractive side in English football when they are on their game and the current vintage - a mélange of Mesut Ozil's dawdling precision, Alexis Sanchez's Tasmanian Devil-esque line-leading and Santi Cazorla's sophisticated string-pulling - could be their finest yet.

And yet there is a curious element to Wenger's teams - the goalkeeper.

Wenger has chosen goalkeepers that traditionally don't seem like natural fits for his style (Photo: David Price)

For a man so committed to passing football and dominating possession (they have finished first, third, second, first, first, first and first in possession percentage over the last seven seasons) it is a quirk that Wenger has traditionally preferred goalkeepers who aren't necessarily going to join in with the passing game.

We saw, with the hullabaloo that surrounded Joe Hart's replacement by Claudio Bravo this summer, how important some coaches believe goalkeepers to be. Sweeper-keepers who can operate high up the field if necessary - and rotate possession to make it effectively eleven outfield players - are vital in some schemes. For Wenger, you would expect it might fit his philosophy.

And yet you look at who he has favoured through the years and the cloth from which his goalkeepers are cut is distinctly un-Wenger.

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Petr Cech and Jens Lehmann are and were both fine shotstoppers. But memories of a clunking Lehmann failing to trap a bag of cement and giving away calamity goals are still as fresh as that perm. Cech, for all his talents, isn't your man for raking balls to the full-back on the opposite touchline either.

Wojciech Szczesny should have been the best in this respect. He was schooled at Arsenal, he arrived and then learned the ropes under Wenger's regime but was notably poor with the ball at his feet - not to mention his handling issues.

The likes of Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski are best forgotten altogether.

Jens Lehmann was hardly the best with the ball at his feet (Photo: REUTERS)

Wojciech Szczesny should have been better in possession (Photo: Reuters)

David Seaman, who Wenger inherited, was also a traditional shotstopper but is arguably the exception to Wenger's rule.

The Yorkshireman was surprisingly good in possession for the era in which he played. George Graham, Arsenal's manager of the early 1990s, had used such an aggressive offside trap that he had Seaman practice sweeping up outside his box on a regular basis in training.

Graham also made Seaman work on kicking with both feet, a staple of goalkeeper coaching now but ahead of its time in an era when post-match drinks were more gin and tonic than isotonic.

David Seaman (Photo: Getty Images)

Arsenal's David Seaman leaps to save a header from Sheffield United's Paul Peschisolido, during their FA Cup semi-final match at Old Trafford (Photo: Reuters)

This inconsistency (if you can call it that) in Wenger's formula isn't a concern. There is, after all, nothing wrong with wanting a goalkeeper whose focus is on just keeping the ball out of the net.

But that is why Arsenal's

It isn't necessarily something that people have dwelt on before but Oblak fits the mould for a Wenger goalkeeper.

Jan Oblak hits Wenger's mould (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Jan Oblak won Best Goalkeeper at the La Liga awards (Photo: Getty Images)

(Photo: AFP/Getty)

He is, first and foremost, an excellent shotstopper and is blessed with the big frame that Arsene prefers. Oblak commands his backline, albeit aided by Diego Godín's leadership, and is an imposing presence.

Oblak is also just 23, potentially a goalkeeper for the next decade at the Emirates and one that Diego Simeone's side may be willing to cash in on. They will set the price high, they always do, but as with Falcao, Diego Costa and Filipe Luis they know when is best to take the money and run.

While much his made of Wenger's fine footballing philosophy, between the sticks he just wants a man who can keep it out. Oblak could be that man as Arsenal begin to look at replacing Cech, 34, in the next 18 months.